Tangled Hearts Read online

  Five minutes later, after struggling back into her control top pantyhose…surely some sadist had invented these…she looked in the mirror and ensured that she looked presentable once again. No lipstick stains on her teeth. Hair in place. Cream silk blouse tucked neatly into her brown skirt, the matching brown jacket in place and, thankfully, no coffee stains anywhere to be seen, even though she’d been so nervous about her speech today that her fingers had trembled when she’d lifted her coffee cup to her lips.

  Thankfully, that was all over and she could now relax. Speaking in front of a crowd was a miserable, horrible experience, but it was part of her job as ambassador for Shadir. It was her job to show the people of her country that women could lead and be in positions of responsibility. She’d been making progress at changing the ultra-conservative views of her people, but it was a painfully slow effort. Her only solace was the knowledge that other countries in her region were struggling with the same issues. Good grief, even her grandfather had owned a harem of over one hundred women! And yes, “owned” was the right term since many of the women in his harem had been bought and paid for, then restricted to the palace and “protected” by guards. Thankfully, her father hadn’t owned a harem during his lifetime, a prelude to the changes that needed to be made in Cordaire.

  Smoothing her hand down over her skirt, she gave her reflection a curt nod of approval, then turned to walk out of the bathroom.

  The long corridor was silent and empty as she moved in the direction of her next meeting.

  Avi bowed her head, mentally going through the issues that would be brought up in her next meeting. Perhaps if she’d lifted her head and focused on her surroundings, she might have avoided the person rushing down the hallway.

  Unfortunately, she did have her head bowed so she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Which meant that she didn’t see the person coming around the corner until it was too late. When the guy ran into her, Avi’s balance was thrown off and she swung out, trying to keep herself from falling into an ignominious heap onto the hard floor. But she couldn’t do it and Avi felt herself falling…falling and…

  Something hard and powerful stopped her fall, pulling her up against something that was almost as hard as the floor, but since she was still on her feet, Avi didn’t feel the humiliation that would hit her if she’d been on the ground.

  “I got you,” a gravelly, deep voice whispered in her ear as those strong arms tightened around her.

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